Author: James Edward Mills

[caption id="attachment_484" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Team Joy Trip post Ride For Boys & Girls Club"][/caption]
So far our Bike For Boys & Girls Club team has raised $1,375. With a more than a month of fundraising still to go we’re well on track to reach our goal of $3,500. On Saturday July 18th 14 of my cycling friends and I road our bikes 50 miles around the Madison area to help promote programs that engage disadvantaged young people in our community. And though we’ve ridden this familiar route dozens of times for our own enjoyment there was something truly special about doing it this time for such a worthy cause.
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Our Bike for Boys & Girls Club team jerseys arrived today! Our group of 14 riders will pedal 50 miles around Madison this Saturday to raise money and awareness for underprivileged youth in our community
Join Team Joy Trip and pledge your support at:
http://tr.im/nNm8
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The attention of the cycling world is clearly focused this week on the Tour De France. As Lance Armstrong makes an amazing play for his 8th win after three years in retirement, just about everyone who pulls out their bike these days wonders how they might stack up against the grueling pace over 3,500 kilometers of steep mountain roads. Especially here in Wisconsin, home of Trek Bicycle where Lance’s bikes are made, citizen riders pound pedal to pavement over scenic routes throughout Dane County that are as good...

[caption id="attachment_405" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Outdoor Reps Association Summer Fashion Show"][/caption]
Even if you're an environmentalist, fashion matters. Technical garments made sustainably allow us to encounter the natural world in comfort, grace and style. This series of photographs was taken during a fashion show at the Outdoor Reps Association Summer Market in Madison, Wisconsin. The models are all volunteers and passionate about their active lifestyles. Visit Flickr! for the complete array of photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nwsr8th/sets/72157621090335831/
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[caption id="attachment_382" align="alignleft" width="288" caption="Chef Ming Tsai"][/caption]
Ming Tsai is the chef and owner of Blue Ginger Restaurant in Wellesley Massachusetts. He’s also the national spokesman for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network and works with the Obesity Center at Harvard University. You might have seen him on his PBS cooking show Simply Ming. Tsai understands better than most that it’s harder than ever for working families and individuals to prepare healthy meals.
Tsai was the master of ceremonies during a day-long symposium on food during the Mountain Film Festival...

[caption id="attachment_365" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="photo by Dudley Edmondson"][/caption]
A new national conference is set to begin on September 23rd. A group of African American environmental activists and outdoor enthusiasts will gather in Atlanta Georgia to have a frank discussion on issues of race in the movement to preserve wild and scenic places. Called Breaking the Color Barrier in The Great Outdoors, this conference promises to bring together people of color to talk about their role in protecting the natural environment for future generations. For details visit www.breakingthecolorbarrier.com
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After 20 years in the outdoor business for me this conference is a long time in coming. As a person of color myself I’ve spent my career silently hoping that more people who look like me would find themselves enjoying the wilderness areas I love.
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If only diversity in outdoor recreation were simply a matter of race. Then we might just think about ignoring it. Those who take comfort in the peace and solitude of wilderness, mostly white folks, would likely prefer to keep nature’s hideaways safely preserved for their own use. And as long as the growing minority population of black and brown folks elects to avoid these wild and scenic places, favoring instead foreign travel and urban pastimes, what’s the harm?